Ryan’s POV / 3rd’s/1st  person POV 

When Brendon came rushing home that evening with great news, I didn’t expect it would be a job at some Casino. Brendon began talking too fast — I looked at Jon, who looked at Spencer, and the latter turned his gaze back at me. 

We were eating supper when he came, and his food was getting colder as he kept talking and explaining over excitedly. Jon sent him a glare when Brendon’s hamburger and fries remained untouched, he did not approve of the waste of such a good meal..  

“Guys come on, the manager told me we could even become strippers!” Brendon cheers happily, looking at us with hopeful eyes, and his cold dinner laid in front of him. 

“Brendon, we’re all gay.” We answer in unison.

“Oh yes, of course I know that. _But_, there are also men.” Brendon pointed out matter-of-factly and shifted in his seat as he took the first bite of his burger. 

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, “Bren, I’m not sure about this - Also B, stop eating so fast, you’ll get sick.”

Brendon stopped eating and took a sip of the soda Jon had handed him. He then looked at his half-eaten hamburger on his plate and decided he had had enough. Brendon got on his knees and started begging — the sight of that was actually quite cute. 

Spencer and Jon came closer to me and we went through our options. Once we were done, we all looked at Brendon who had stopped his act, trying to give us the best puppy eyes he could muster, innocently eating a fry.

“Look, we'll do it.” Spencer begins, gathering the dirty dishes on the table and stopping to finish the fries Brendon left uneaten. 

“But, none of us are going to be strippers. That’s not up for discussion.” Jon adds after taking a sip of his drink.

“Lastly, we all need to talk to the manager, not just you.” I finished the speech, only to find that Brendon had jumped on me to give me a hug, then moved on to the others. I sighed, again, and smiled at Brendon, who went to steal his plate back from Spencer’s reach. 

“It better pay good money.” Jon muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

-----

Next Day

“Good evening, gentlemen!” Mr. Reyes greeted them politely in his office. The man was in his sixties and had greyish hair - a friendly smile on his face even though he’s a ‘Casino guy’, as Brendon called him when he couldn’t remember his name. "What can I do for you?... You’re here for the job offer, I suppose.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Spencer stepped in, just in case Brendon would say the wrong thing in front of him that got them in trouble.

“Wonderful!... So, allow me to introduce myself, I’m Jackson Reyes, nice to meet all of you.”

“The pleasure is ours, sir.” Ryan took the lead this time, being the more formal of them according to Brendon. 

“Oh please! Quit the formalities. Here we go by our first names, just call me Jackson.” 

“Ok then, Jackson.” Ryan chuckled and continued to introduce them to their possible new boss, if everything came alright and they got it, that’s it. “I’m Ryan, and they’re Brendon, Spencer and Jon.” 

“Well boys, you seem to be the ones I’ve been looking for.” Jackson Reyes smiled brightly at the four boys standing in front of him as he shook their hands. “Come on, I’ll show you around and tell you where we need ya. ” 

“Thanks, Mr. Reyes. Sounds perfect!” Brendon quickly answered for the others, a bit mad at his friends because they just kept talking over him, when he had been the one who already interacted with the man before. Though Brendon did understand, if he spoke, their chances of getting anything would decrease.  

Jackson gave them a quick tour around the casino, saying stuff like it’s not worth it to explain it all when it's common knowledge what happens in it. When he did stop to elaborate a bit further than just a few sentences, he told them the history of the casino. Not like how it was built, but the progress and success it had over the years. He and his brother, Mason, the ones in charge of the casino and strip club downstairs.

That’s something that caught Brendon’s ear and grinned devilishly. Ryan just glared at him, making him giggle inaudibly while Jackson kept on talking about how great everything was with his brother, how a great team they were, and more. The man did seem like a nice person after all, at least in those few minutes. 

Once he was over with his a-little-bit-too-much unnecessary, the real thing began. Mr. Reyes offered them the jobs available. “Anyway! You are here for a reason and I won’t entertain you further… We have some vacants on the bar or as a cocktail server, in case you don’t fancy being on the gambling side. But if you do, you could always be gaming dealers - blackjack, roulette, poker - the usuals, you know about it.” 

The four boys stared at each other as they contemplated which job fitted them best. They already had an idea, but they were still unsure. Jackson even sort of helped them in their decision, guessing which one they’d get, or, what he felt it suited them the most.

At the end, Brendon and Ryan both decided to become dealers. Ryan's long hands worked just perfectly to deliver cards easily; Brendon’s playing skills just screamed at him to be a dealer. Meanwhile, the other pair preferred seeing people play from the outside, Spencer from behind the bar counter and Jon serving them their cocktails. All four of them chose the night shift, from 10pm to 6am. 

“Great choices, boys!... Now, all you have to do is fill and sign your contract and then you're good. Let’s go back to the office so we can do all the boring paperwork.” Jackson guided them to the small yet so spacious room at the back of the place. He pulled out some papers from his desk and handed them to the boys, so they could sign. 

As they waited their turn to actually fill the papers, Jackson explained the very last details. “In the first week, you’ll be trained. You’ll get your uniform on your first day - we have a locker room, don’t worry about that…” He narrated some more, and then concluded with. “I think that's all I need to tell you — the contract explains it further, anyway.”

“Ok, great!... When could we start?” Jon asked once he finished and gave away the papers. 

Mr. Reyes took them and signed them too before answering.“If you like, you can start on Monday. Is it okay for you?”

“Absolutely, we’ll be here.” Brendon smiled and was the first one to handshake the man one last time, to ‘seal the deal’.  

“Alright then, see you guys!” “Bye!”

------

Some days later

Ryan made sure everyone was fed before going to their first day at work. He was torn between making breakfast or dinner — it was night time, but his mind was used to having breakfast and then work. Either way, he ended up preparing his famous eggs and bacon, to not lose the tradition. 

Brendon groaned when he noticed that it was surely not an usual dinner, but still helped him by flipping the eggs. He had just woken up after an energizing nap, all ready and tiredness kicked out of his system. Ryan shushed away his completely normal, over-energetic self and got the plates and set the silverware on the table. 

“Are you ready to start your new life, Ross?” Brendon asked as he ate a piece of bacon right from the tray. 

“I’m so ready, Urie. What about you?” Ryan took the bacon away from Brendon’s fiddling hands, and he whined in protest.

“That wasn’t nice of you, hmm... Anyway, I mean yeah, it should be like any other job — At first it's hard, but once we get used to it, everything should be ok.” Brendon explained on his way to open the door for Jon and Spencer. “Hey, come in guys, breakfast is ready! We were just waiting for you.”

“Hello to you too, Brenny!” The incoming boys greeted Brendon and didn't question the breakfast part. They knew Ryan and his constant tendencies of messing up meal times. The boy defended himself saying ‘your stomach has no sense of time, just eat and stop complaining’. Spencer found his answer to be good enough.  

All three of them walked over to the table, Ryan served them and they started eating. They had at least one more hour, that’s it if they wanted to arrive early. Ryan still needed to shower, but the others had already showered and dressed, all set for a hopefully nice first impression.  

Monday had arrived quicker than ever. They were nervously excited. Spencer was positive something bad or embarrassing would happen though, and the thought just might’ve included Brendon as the protagonist. Jon agreed, recalling past experiences. Ryan sighed, and hoped, prayed, that neither of them would die or something. 

—

<> An hour later

It was safe to say nothing extraordinary had happened on their way to the casino. Everything was going smoothly, and they hoped it would keep going like that — they arrived at the right time, no weird interactions, and lastly, they were well received by Mr. Reyes.

Jackson led them to his office to hand them each of their uniforms and tell them who would be their ‘trainer’. “It’s so great to see you guys!... How are you, ready for your first day?” Jackson asked excitedly, trying to start small talk with them. 

Brendon quickly tuned in the conversation, answering politely and asking some more. It all confused Ryan though, he found it a tad weird coming from the man — either Jackson was just too nice in general, or there was something else going on. Hopefully, the first option.  

“Here, have these. The locker room is down the hall, but I’ll call somebody to guide you anyway.” Mr. Reyes pulled out four packages, and each of them took the one with their name on the front. “There’s a little note inside, it has your locker number and its code.” 

“Thank you, sir.” Jon piped in, eyeing his name nicely written on a piece of tape.  

“Wait, let me tell you who will be your trainer this week.” Brendon side-glanced at his boyfriend, and Ryan was looking back at him. He mouthed challengingly ‘Let’s see who gets the hottie’, Ryan simply rolled his eyes. “Jasmine and Dallon will be the game dealers' trainers. Who gets who?” 

“I go with Dallon, if that’s ok.” Brendon responded immediately, smirking at Ryan afterwards. The guy received a glare, along with a few warning daggers aimed at him. Brendon ignored it and flattered his eyelashes at Ryan instead.

“Ok then, Jasmine will go with… Ryan, right?” Jackson looked up to see if he had said it right. Ryan nodded and he continued, addressing Spencer and Jon. “Perfect. Now, Katelyn will be with both of you actually, helping you at the bar.”

They lifted an eyebrow simultaneously, exchanging looks as they smiled slightly. Neither Spencer nor Jon were expecting to be teamed up, but weren’t complaining either. The younger one answered for them. “Sure thing.”   

“Everything you need to know, they will tell and teach you. Question them as much as you like, they’ll answer. They’re responsible for you for a whole week. Good luck!” Mr. Reyes stood up from his desk chair and motioned at the one guy standing in the doorway, who surely wasn’t there before. “Sebastian, could you lead them to the lockers, please?”

“Thank you so much, sir. We won’t disappoint.” Brendon spoke and excused themselves, following Sebastian’s directions until they got to the right room. The guy didn’t say a thing after that, just  ‘welcome new ones’ and left.  

“Bye!... He’s weird. Thank god he wasn’t an option.” Brendon breathed out once Sebastian was out of hearing range. The rest agreed and unpacked their uniforms, checking if it was the right size they had ordered. “I just hope this Dallon guy is nice. I surely won’t be a little bitch for an asshole.” 

Jon laughed, mumbling under his breath. “About that, Bren. You _already are_ a little bitch for an asshole.” The comment made Brendon’s body double in laughter when the realization hit him. Ryan, on the contrary, didn’t find it funny at all.

“I’m not an asshole! You are for calling me that.” Ryan bit back and slid his bony limbs and skinny figure into his new clothes. “Stop bullying me and get dressed. I wouldn’t want to get fired before I even start.” 

“Fine, mom.” Jon joked one more time before finally giving in and following the others’ actions. 

The uniform was a common, white button-up and black dress pants. Nothing too special about that. The little switch was the bright, sparkly red vest, and its matching bow tie. Brendon rocked the glittery clothing item, but Ryan wasn’t too sure about himself. 

Once they were all dressed, they searched for their locker to save their stuff. “C’mon guys, we got this.” Brendon cheered enthusiastically, encouraging. “You go kill it at the bar, while we’re immersed in the games. Fuck, yeah!”

“Got it, coach Urie. We'll do our best!” Before Brendon could punch Spencer in the arm, his friend was already walking out the locker room. “Hurry your asses up.”

Ryan giggled, nodding after Spencer. Brendon looked around to confirm if they were the only ones in the room, that way he could kiss Ryan, wishing him good luck. “Now we’re good to go.” And then, they were off to seek for their trainers. 

-

Ryan and Brendon's trainers were waiting for them in front of a blackjack table each. The fact that it was a Monday night and not a weekend one, didn't seem notorious at all — though it wasn't filled to the brim, the place wasn't deserted. Ryan swallowed down, briefly imagining how weekends must be. 

"Good luck, babe." Brendon whispered under his breath, really close to Ryan's ear. The younger intertwined his pinky finger with Ryan's for a second, smiling a lopsided grin. "You too." Ryan answered back, lips curling upwards. 

They looked around the room. Nobody had told them who were the people they were looking for, seeing they were all wearing the same glittery vest. But, there was a specific pair by the middle of the room, heads perked up and a searching gaze, as if they didn't know either who would appear at their table. 

Ryan nudged Brendon's arm and pointed a finger in their direction, "I think they are."

Brendon squinted his eyes to try and get a better look. Ryan rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm instead, guiding Brendon through the masses until they met their new, sort of, bosses. 

Jasmine, a short, black-haired girl around their age. Ryan could care less about her looks; he concluded she was trying way too hard with her flirty eyes.

Brendon's trainer, Dallon, was a whole other story. His tall and slim figure towered over Brendon a good six inches above him. It would've been intimidating, if it weren't for the fact his face looked far too puritanical for that.

Even though the man was quite a sight to see, Brendon didn't look at him that way. It would've been pointless and wrong coming from Brendon. There was a ring on Dallon's finger, and that was something Brendon never played with. 

Both of them, Brendon and Ryan, were familiarized enough with card games. Now all was left for them to learn was play from the other side of the table. Jasmine and Dallon made them each watch and analyze their every move at first.

Seeming the place had a fair amount of people playing at nighttime, the blackjack surely wouldn't be alone. Three half-drunk girls made their way to fill up Brendon's table, whilst some older males sat at Ryan's. 

Both Dallon and Jasmine didn't speak that much to the newer couple while they served cards at the people in front of them. Their only job at the moment was to watch the whole thing — in case they didn't know how it was played, which they did — and not miss any of their moves.

Brendon's gaze was fixed on Dallon's large hands, maneuvering skillfully every card before laying them on top of the dark green table. Brendon imagined himself doing that too, all the while dressed in the sparkly vest. The sound that left his mouth made Dallon send a disapproving glare at him. 

On the other side, Ryan was boringly looking at Jasmine's game. The old men were so boring, making the game a boring one instead of exciting. But he couldn't look away because Jasmine was constantly checking on him. Ryan wasn't sure if it was for the right reasons, or, she was just making sure it was her Ryan was looking at. The thought made Ryan chuckle in amusement, and Jasmine sent him another flirty smile, killing Ryan's little laugh in an instant.

Hours later, they had started taking real 'lessons' from their instructors. Which, if you asked Ryan, weren't lessons or instructions at all. They were more of the same 'look and listen to me, and try to learn something'. 

Ryan himself figured he would learn as he grew more familiar with it. Clearly not because of the girl who was supposedly gonna teach him, who now was bent forward slightly to show more of her cleavage — Ryan really could care less, yet the girl was persistent in trying to get his attention.  

Brendon had a better teacher, the guy at least tried to teach him something. Dallon's voice was calm, soothing to his ears. Somehow relaxing Brendon in the middle of the lousy room. He was an absolute charm, Brendon thought it was nice to have him as his trainer. 

Yet, Brendon often found himself glancing back to see how his boy was doing, chuckling at how bored he looked. The black haired boy got distracted for a brief moment, forgetting about blackjack for a hot second and focusing on his incredible boyfriend instead. He was lucky, very lucky. 

From the other side of the room, Spencer and Jon were doing just fine. Katelyn was a good girl, all kind smiles, thin glasses and a high ponytail; didn’t look like she belonged at the casino’s bar at all. But neither did they, according to Spencer. 

Jon was slightly surprised when he found the countless types of drinks the casino had to offer. Even if he would be just handing them away, he still needed to know which one it was after all. So, both of them were reading — studying really — carefully over the small, sort of pamphlet they were given. It was fairly similar to a menu, but extra detailed in the ingredientes. 

They were just three hours in. One hundred and eighty minutes since all four of them set foot in the casino for the first time as employees. And they still weren’t completely sure how wise their decision had been. They’d see at the end of the day - in the morning, actually - how things went, and, if they wouldn’t drop out before their next shift started. 

—

<> Next morning

Even if the casino never lost its lights — it was shinier and more alive than ever — the outside world did recuperate it’s natural and bright glow. 

When their shift came to an end, they needed to stick around for a bit more — newbies things. And around an hour later, they could finally return to the normal, not casino world. Where there weren’t any gambling machines making noise, the distinctive sounds of the roulette spinning, nor the drunken laughter of people betting their pockets off. 

Brendon breathed the non-alcohol smelling air, and felt actually content for a split second. He didn’t hate the casino, not at all, but he still missed the oh-so-blinding sunlight. Ryan surprisingly agreed with Brendon for once.

On the other hand, Jon couldn’t stop talking about how all his life he had missed tons of spectacular drinks. There were poisonous combinations Jon couldn’t even dream of, and was willing to try them all. “Dude, we gotta try this… how was it called, uhm, I think it’s the Fiery Empress. Yeah, it’s definitely that one.” 

“Jon, please, you know you can’t handle spicy stuff.” Spencer deadpanned, only to receive a smack in the arm and a little to not noticeable, pull of hair. “Hey! That hurt.”

“Well deserved.” Jon flashed Spencer a grin and continued driving. Ryan and Brendon shared glances in the back of the car, and rolled their eyes simultaneously.

Later on the way home, Spencer argued they needed to make a quick trip to a liquor store, or a supermarket at least. He reasoned he needed to buy supplies in order to practice at home what he learned at work. The rest agreed with him — they were low in alcohol anyway. 

Once they were stocked up with a few bottles of deathly liquid, they finally arrived home. The department was exactly like they left it — it’d be worrying otherwise. But now the liquor cabinet had been restocked; it was a pleasant sight.

“Well, guys, it’s been a rough first night. See you later, when Spin boy here isn’t tripping over in his sleepy state.” Jon said his goodbye and waved at the other pair, already closing the door and getting inside. “Goodnight!”

“Right thing, night! — or, morning?” Brendon spoke before closing the door too, questioning himself at the end of the sentence. “Ry, what is it? Goodnight or good morning?”

“Neither!” Ryan’s loud, slightly annoyed sounding voice was heard from their bedroom. He had made a quick move to get into the confines of their bedroom. The apartment was fairly small anyway, everything was close and nothing too far. “Just come to bed, sleep, would ya?” 

“What if I’m not tired yet, hm?” Brendon stood on the doorframe, crossing his arms, right hip bone jutting out just a fraction, enough to nail the essence he tried to show. “What if I just stay awake ‘till night time? Sleep at the right time.”

Ryan looked at him with a bored expression, or just really tired. Brendon couldn’t stop and try to guess which one it was. The older boy was already tucking himself under the thick duvet when he gave some sort of final answer to his boyfriend. “You’re tired, and you won’t be staying awake any longer… Now, go to sleep.”

“But why would I be doing that, babe? When I rather spend the time awake, talking about how great the casino is. Because it really is, not gonna lie, never thought it’d be actually good.” Brendon enthused as he searched through the underwear drawer, looking for his pajama bottoms. 

“Fine then, go ahead.” Ryan muttered, words muffled against the soft fabric of the pillow, only half-awake now. 

Brendon put his pajamas on, yawned and got into bed beside Ryan. Of course he was tired, he just loved to annoy Ryan a little more every day. It was quite amusing. 

Once Brendon settled in a comfortable enough position, practically resting on top of the other boy, he continued rambling his thoughts out loud, more like slurring incoherent sentences. 

“It’s just, uhm, so different from what I expected it to be. In movies it’s always this, I dunno, superficial scene. All lights, money, alcohol, drugs, specially drugs, and god — no wait, there’s no god involved. Huh? Anyway, it’s nice. The comparison from real to fiction it’s nice, finally getting to know the true story... We live in Las Vegas, it has to be our call to be working at some casino, become fucking games dealers. My childhood dream job, sort of, yeah. We should be proud of being part of this.” 

Brendon’s voice had grown audibly calmer by the second, lulling them both, mostly him, to sleep. He sighed dreamily after he finished narrating his long rollercoaster of thoughts, looking up to the other boy to ask him his opinion. “What do you think, Ry?

Ryan had been already asleep since before Brendon started talking, only humming at his name being called, nothing more. The younger one seemed satisfied enough with his answer, cuddling up with him and finally closing his eyes. 

Not so long after that, Brendon joined Ryan and fell into a deep slumber, the boys becoming a visible tangle of limbs. Their busy day of starting a new job, a new chapter, had officially ended. 

------

A week later

"Nice gentleman, would you mind showing off your cards for everyone to see?" Brendon spoke in his usual charmingly elegant voice. He definitely made a hell of a good dealer — the tips were always good, it had to be for a reason. 

The cards were neatly placed on the middle of the table. And they were meaningless like that, just simple cards on a table — There was a pair of fours, an eight and ten of hearts, and lastly, a powerful joker.

Everyone took their time to analyze what they had in front of them, trying to come up with the highest hand possible. There was a devilish smirk growing on Ryan's face. It was evil compared to the common frown on Spencer's. 

"I'm definitely winning this round." Ryan stated with such determination as he turned around his cards — A seven and Jack of hearts. "Straight flush, fuckers!"

The others at the table stared blankly at him. It was pretty much useless to try and win Ryan over. Reading their faces was more than enough to confirm Ryan's victory, once again— If they kept playing at such pace, they would make Ryan rich. While they starve for the lack of money in their pockets. 

"C'mon, don't be so shy, gimme the money." Ryan leaned forward to grab his beloved price, when nobody physically nor verbally responded to him. "Another twenty bucks added to my wallet... Thanks everyone."

"Damn it, Ryan. And here I thought my full house would be good enough to beat your scrawny ass." Jon chuckled and gently placed his cards back on the stack. "You never fail to surprise me, man."

"Of course, Johnny boy." Ryan leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms over his head. 

"How the fuck do you do that?" Brendon asked suddenly. Showing Ryan his miserable pair of thrice. "Why're you always so lucky?... No, you're god's favorite child, right?"

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. Keeping up the 'I just won, I'm better than you' facade for at least one more minute. It felt nice to wear the imaginary crown for a moment. "Nah, I'm just that good." 

Spencer's frown got even deeper. More of an annoyed look now. And next thing, he threw his cards hastily on top the stack. "I'm done. Fuck you, Ross! Fuck. You." 

Everyone laughed loudly after Spencer's little outburst — Brendon and Jon laughed as if they haven't just lost miserably too. The slight tenseness of the air, quickly vanished. Ryan did too, not caring the insult aimed at him. "I'm going to bed, goodnight... Definitely not you, Ryan."

"Love you too!" Ryan waved over exaggeratedly at him. Followed by a fit of laughter coming from the person right beside him. "Sweet dreams!"

"Fuck you!" That's the last thing they heard from Spencer before the loud sound of a door slamming shut. 

"He's the worst poker player I've had the pleasure to meet. I swear." Ryan breathed out halfheartedly. Once he was sure Spencer was already locked up in his own apartment. "And believe me. I've seen a lot."

"Definitely." Brendon agreed, nodding his head as he took a gulp of his drink. "I'm sure as hell a loser when it comes to you,"

"Consider both of us." Jon piped up and got up from the table. Yawning his way to the kitchen. 

"— But Spencer? He definitely crossed the line." Brendon finished what he was trying to say. A satisfied grin lingered on Ryan’s lips. "He better stay out of the game.... indefinitely."

Both of them chuckled lightly as they cleaned up the mess they've done while playing — Packing up the cards, throwing away beer cans, chips crumbles — "That's why he chose the bar instead of the real business, Brendon." 

"Damn right he did."

-----

Two-Three weeks later

As I was counting the money for someone, I heard my name being called by Brendon. He waves his hand toward the stage and points one finger up, indicating one minute until we play. I guess I got carried away and forgot about it. I called Dallon over and asked if he could count the rest so I could get going. 

When I got backstage everyone was ready, and as I applied a little touch up to my eyeliner the band got called on stage. With a whispered-yell count down from Spencer, Brendon takes the lead as he begins to sing. 

Now I'm of consenting age

To be forgetting you in a cabaret

Somewhere downtown

Where a burlesque queen

May even ask my name

As she sheds her skin on stage

I'm seated and sweating to

A dance song on the club's P.A.

Brendon was moving around the stage and was getting the crowd riled up. Some people even threw money at us, well more towards Brendon, but we would still get it. I focused on looking down at my fingers, strumming the right cords at the right times, before anyone could notice I was blushing at him.

The strip joint veteran sits two away

Smirking between

Dignified sips of his dignified

Peach and lime daiquiri

And isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know

Praying for love and a lap dance

Brendon looked at me over his shoulder, smirking as he began to move his body to the beat of the music. He turned around and focused on the crowd. 

And paying in naivety

Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know

Praying for love and a lap dance

And paying in naivety

Oh, oh well I'm afraid that I

He clapped his hands with a shake of his hips to punctuate the beat of the song. Every move was calculated and only had one goal — I’ll be damned if it isn’t true. I bit down on my lip until it’s a raw shade of red.

Well I may have faked it

And I wouldn't be caught dead

D-dead, d-dead, d-dead in this place

Well I'm afraid that I

Well I may have faked it

And I wouldn't be caught dead in this place

Isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

He danced with the strippers as they made their way to him. Being completely honest, I was slightly jealous of them, getting to be that close to him. Although, I can be close when we get home, my mind didn’t like the idea of what he was doing with them right now. 

Well I'm afraid that I

Well I may have faked it

And I wouldn't be caught dead

D-dead, d-dead, d-dead in this place

Well I'm afraid that I

Well that's right, well I may have faked it

And I wouldn't be caught dead in this place

We were almost done and that's when he started walking over to me. I tried to not look at him, but he just traced my jaw line with a delicate finger, then went back to singing the last part. I could feel myself blush and I tried to focus on the guitar. 

Isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know

Praying for love and a lap dance

And paying in naivety

Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know

Praying for love and a lap dance

And paying in naivety

Praying for love and paying in naivety

Praying for love and paying in naivety, oh

Once we all finished the song, the people cheered and threw more money. We bowed and walked off the stage. It was then that Brendon came up to me and left light kisses on my neck. I smirked, whispering under my breath “Later, Urie.” 

Brendon just whined and kept shooting me his famous puppy dog eyes until we got home. It was only there where we could have some fun. 

-----

A month later

The Reyes brothers were really nice people. Which was rare to see — owners of a casino and strip club in the heart of Las Vegas, being nice? Very unusual. But the group of friends were eternally grateful; they didn't have to deal with some heartless bastard as their boss.

At times, when there weren't awful lots of people in the large space of lights and games, Jackson would socialize with the people. He'd talk about nothing in particular — past experiences, jokes, advice, and more.

It was one of those moments at the time, the man of the casino appeared in the sea of people and made himself noticed, when the B-side job of the casino was offered to them. Jackson Reyes had casually blurted it out in the middle of some story telling. More like in a joking manner, but the offer still standing.

Ryan and Brendon laughed loudly, along with the few others standing close by. They were toying halfheartedly with the idea of lap dances and the whole experience of being in a strip club. But still, the possibility of becoming a _stripper_ didn't vanish, in any case, it grew. 

Jackson himself had told them, since day one, they could also work over there. So it didn't surprise them much, it wasn't like they would take it anyway. Or, that's what they thought?

Brendon's attention was drawn away from the conversation. His lip was between his teeth and the creases on his forehead were more pronounced. Ryan noticed the slight mood change in Brendon and turned to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. "Brendon...?"

His gaze moved from their perfectly hidden, intertwined hands, to Ryan's questioning eyes. A simple look and the raise of one eyebrow, told Ryan everything he needed to know. And it confused him — scared him, even. 

The silence that followed, apart from a shrug of his shoulders, kind-of answered Ryan's subtle question — Brendon was really considering getting into it. His boyfriend, Brendon, was thinking of working as a stripper. Ryan didn't know how to feel about it. 

In front of them, Mr. Reyes was still telling a story about that one night when who knows which celebrity got deathly drunk and blah blah blah. Neither Brendon nor Ryan felt like listening anymore, they just stood there acting politely in the presence of their boss.

The rest of the night, Brendon and Ryan focused exclusively on going through their shift. Lap dances and lacking of clothing out of their minds. And surprisingly, the couple managed to ignore it until they got home later in the morning, where they could talk freely.

Ryan entered their apartment first, not bothering to say a word to the others before sliding into their bedroom. The casino's silly uniform came off of his body in one swift movement. An after-work shower would work just great.

Before getting in the shower, Ryan looked at his reflection in the mirror. The stubble on his chin was getting noticeable. Same thing with his cheeks — He did not like having facial hair, but he would let it slip from this one time.

The water cascading down Ryan's body was warm. The tension underneath the skin slowly dissolved with every droplet coming in contact with it. He would deal with his mind later on, but in that moment, all Ryan needed was the relaxation of every fiber of his being. 

While Ryan washed his hair with the fruity-smelling shampoo he definitely didn't buy, he heard his boyfriend's footsteps not so far from the shower. Ryan had guessed Brendon would take the wordless hint and let Ryan chill out for a moment. But then, a pair of arms found its way around Ryan's slim waist — Ryan couldn't really deny he half-expected him to come in the shower anyway. 

Brendon nuzzled Ryan's neck. The hold on his waist brought a warm sensation to calm down Ryan's distressed demeanor — Ryan closed his eyes and let the water fall down over both of them, enjoying the natural warmth Brendon radiated off him. 

"Ry, what's wrong?" Brendon asked cautiously. Ryan's head hung low, and Brendon took the opportunity to trail light kisses all along Ryan's shoulder blades. "You can talk to me."

"Nothing, everything... If you already know, why'd you ask?" The words had a dash of confusion lacing them, voice constricted as he spoke.

"Don't get all worried, sugar. I was just thinking about it." Ryan had always admired, almost envied, Brendon's easy-going, carefree attitude and positivity. But Ryan couldn't just stop worrying — not when he already had plenty of possible scenarios swirling in his brain.

"But, why? You seemed pretty serious." Ryan was growing visibly calmer, his boyfriend's presence always helped — Brendon had apparently taken it upon himself to bathe Ryan. He traced the soap in circles all over Ryan's back. Then, Brendon gave him a gentle massage, spreading the suds down his back and arms. 

"I don't know. I just — I guess it wouldn't be too bad... And we could use the extra money, y'know." Brendon reasoned out loud, pressing his palms to Ryan's shoulders. 

-

To those words, Ryan's muscles regained all the tenseness Brendon had already rinsed out of him with his hands. It made the rest of their shower, quiet down, besides the sound of water falling off their bodies. Brendon didn't think much of it, just finished cleaning themselves — in the meanwhile, Ryan's mind went spiraling into all kinds of emotions. 

The mere thought of Brendon as a stripper worried him so much — Brendon wearing close to nothing, exposed in front of people, dancing for them, giving lap dances to complete strangers, people seeing him dirtily, like a damn piece of meat — Ryan was getting paler by the time he had all the visuals in mind.

That was only one face of the coin though. The dangerous, dark side, and the only one that should matter — the other face was a little selfish coming from Ryan. But only considerably, at least Ryan thought it was, given the current situation.

Ryan had always been generally insecure, but especially when it came to his relationship with Brendon. And the latter putting himself out there for other people like that, didn't help at all — it was jealousy, sort of, acting, and Ryan knew it. But still, his boyfriend doing such things made an uneasy feeling settle inside him. Ryan couldn't help but to feel like that, all protective over him. 

Once they were out of the shower, they wrapped themselves in cheap, white towels each, searching for clean underwear. Ryan returned to their conversation. "Brendon, I know we're a bit tight on money right now. But, there's no actual need for you to, uhm, become a stripper." 

"Ry, there's worse jobs out there. Stripping doesn't sound half-bad in comparison." Brendon clearly sensed every single one of Ryan's worries — for a very non-expressive man, Ryan needed to work harder in his obvious body-responses to certain situations — and quickly went to elaborate further. "Honey, don't worry your head about it. Just come to bed and sleep, you need it."

"You're thinking about it. And it freaks me out." Ryan used the towel to dry himself and then slid into a pair of black briefs. Then, he got up and grabbed a pair of jeans. Actual jeans to wear when you go out, surely not to stay home and sleep after a night shift. 

"Where are you going?" Brendon asked as he saw with utter confusion in his eyes, Ryan getting dressed in casual clothing. Which was completely different than just underwear and going to bed right after.

"There are plenty, and I mean it. Plenty of other jobs you — we could apply for." Ryan started ranting, completely ignoring Brendon's question. "Various options to choose from the bunch. Yet you're thinking about this one specifically." 

Brendon sighed and threw himself on top of the bed, closing his eyes. "Ryan, could you stop the overreacting act, please?" And then, with a quieter voice, he breathed out, "I didn't know I'd get so much drama just by thinking."

Ryan huffed and opened the closet door to grab one of his many hoodies. "That's where you're wrong. There's many things you could be thinking of. And I certainly don't like this one." 

"Oh please. It was just a simple consideration! For god's sake." Brendon was growing very much impatient by the second. He knew how stubborn Ryan got sometimes, it was never easy to deal with. But the thing that annoyed Brendon the most was how close-minded he could get — stuck in his own mind and unwilling to listen to everyone else. 

"I thought you were 'just thinking'?"

"Thinking, considering — same thing, it doesn't matter." Brendon flailed his arms and let them fall dramatically at his sides. He was seconds away to explode and throw a pillow at Ryan, in hopes to shut him up already. 

"It kind of does. Because it's not just a consideration anymore. That's why I'm scared." Ryan stated confidently and crossed his arms in his chest. He was looking at Brendon now, all sprawled out on the bed. "Right?" 

Brendon leaned up to rest on his elbows and have a better look at Ryan. The look in his eyes held the point he so desperately wanted to prove. Brendon shrugged and laid back down on the bed, curling up sideways, Ryan out of his sight. "I don't know what you mean."

"Brendon, don't play stupid with me." The older spoke with a familiar annoyance, like he had dealt with a similar situation before and was unwilling to keep it up. "I know you — I know when you're lying or hiding something from me." 

"It's not called 'hiding' when you already know it." Brendon murmured defeatedly against the rough fabric of the towel. Eyes closed tight, he didn't exactly want to take a look at Ryan's reaction. "I knew how you'd get. That's why I didn't want — I didn't tell you sooner." 

"So, it's true. You're taking the job?" Ryan questioned flatly, voice monotonous. The sound of keys jangling and footsteps echoed in Brendon's ears as he nodded the slightest in affirmation. He opened one eye to see if Ryan was still there, in the room, he was worried Ryan had left. 

There was nothing more he could do to hide the truth, he sat up and looked right at Ryan as he confirmed. "Yeah," Ryan let out a half-frustrated sound in response. His boyfriend mentally rolled his eyes as he continued. "Don't get like this, Ryan. It's not that terrible like you're making it sound — We're doing just fine, I know that. But a few extra dollars would do us so much better..."

"It's not about the damn money!" The sudden yelling coming from Ryan surprised them both. Brendon about blinked, big brown eyes staring at Ryan like a puppy who had been yelled at. He sighed and explained, apologetic, "It's you I'm worried about. Your safety, your well-being — you."

Brendon looked at Ryan in that moment, he saw exactly what Ryan was going through — the guy just worried a tad too much at times, it was cute — Brendon smiled softly, cheeks tinting pink. "I'm a grown-ass man. I can take care of myself, y'know?"

"I doubt it, actually." It was undeniable the soft, nervous chuckle that left Ryan's mouth right then. Brendon shot him a dirty glance before smiling widely and shocking his head. "You, a grown up? I'm not sure." 

Brendon laughed out loud and nodded, ignoring Ryan's jokingly-offensive words. He patted the empty side of the bed and grinned. "C'mere, you asshole."

"Nope," The taller one turned to look in the mirror one last time before grabbing his wallet and leaving their room. Ryan called out from the hallway, "Somebody needs to buy groceries." 

"At fucking 8am?"

"Y-yeah, at fucking 8am." Ryan's voice faltered through his sentence. The uneasiness still lingered in his insides, no matter how Brendon's words tried to reassure him, they didn't change the obvious 'hey, my boyfriend is a soon-to-be a stripper' thing. "Be right back." 

After closing and locking the front door, he tried not to breathe too hard or think too much. Ryan got in the car and drove to the closest place he could buy the basic supplies they needed in order to survive the rest of the week.

-

<> An hour later

Ryan got home not so long after to a quiet house. He dropped the grocery bags on top of the kitchen counter, hearing nothing but the soft humming noise of the fridge. Ryan had figured Brendon would be sleeping by now, but after their encounter before, he couldn't be too sure. 

His little trip to the supermarket helped him to think — there was a thing about them that had some weird, calming effect over him. Of course, Ryan wasn't completely in sync with his boyfriend's decision, but neither was he as opposed to it like he had been earlier. Ryan figured it would be like that; he couldn't reach the final one hundred percent, but at least a good eighty, very close to ninety.

The house being so silent almost concerned Ryan. It wasn't like Brendon had left, because he could just feel Brendon's presence, but still. There weren't snores, creaking sounds of the bed as he rolled over, nor the tv on as background noise — just silence.

With a pronounced frown on his face, he finished putting everything into place. The vegetables on their spot in the fridge, the meat in the freezer, canned food in the pantry — all neatly organized. When it was done he yawned and stretched, making his way to their room. 

First thing, Brendon was clearly not sleeping. He wasn't even in their room? The bed was made, with no signs that it had been slept over. Second thing, there was a paper sheet lying on top of the covers. A page ripped from some notebook with a few words messily written on it. 

I'm sorry for earlier. Hope this makes you feel better xx  -B

Ryan scanned the note carefully, over and over again. Nothing, besides the apology and some sort of promise, came from those words. What would make him feel better? There weren't any further explanations of what Brendon was exactly referring to.

A flash of serious concern hit Ryan at that moment. Brendon could've meant he was leaving Ryan within the cryptic message, wishing Ryan a happy, Brendon-less life. Ryan freaked out for a hot second, but then reassured himself — he knew his boyfriend wouldn't do such a thing, he was too kind and big-hearted to dump him through a simple note. 

Ryan took a deep breath and forced his heartbeat to go back to normal. His eyes were still fixed on the few words on the page, trying to find a hidden message, if there was any. He got too focused on the single paper that he didn't hear Brendon come in the room. 

Brendon suddenly appeared in the doorway, half leaning into it. Gaze trained in Ryan's lanky figure, stood up in front of the bed with the piece of paper still clinging to his hands. Brendon chuckled lightly once he realized Ryan was being his usual self — he couldn't be his boyfriend if he wasn't over-analyzing everything. Brendon found it amusing, and a little adorable. 

With a few unsure steps, Brendon invaded Ryan's personal space from behind. Not so close where they could touch, but enough to inhale Ryan's faded scent. The warm breath ghosting on his neck was what made Ryan turn around and face a barely-clothed Brendon, lips and eyes smiling sweetly at him.

It surely was a sight Ryan wasn't expecting to see, quite that early on a Friday, or like, ever. His eyes roamed Brendon's figure, top to bottom — he swore there were chills running down his spine just by looking at his boyfriend. Any thought in his mind had been dismissed, leaving behind all the lusty ones. 

Tight, black boxer briefs. Nothing covering Brendon's pale torso. Thigh highs, and a garter belt? The outfit — was it really an outfit? Seriously — hugged, formed Brendon's frame so nicely. Ryan's mind went foggy, it couldn't process quickly enough what was happening. More like going to happen, he couldn't wait. Brendon really hit the nail with the 'hope this makes you feel better' promise, it surely had been a nice surprise. 

The faux innocent look on Brendon's eyes was far from coherent with how the rest of his body looked. Incoherent in a way — Ryan would be lying if he said the nonexistent space in his pants was getting tighter, plus the trouble breathing had absolutely nothing to do with being anxious. 

"C'mon baby, sit and enjoy." Brendon purred in Ryan's ear sensually, stopping to gently bite it. His hands never left Ryan's neck, caressing the skin. 

"Oh, ok..." Ryan obliged immediately and sat down on the chair Brendon positioned in the middle of the room. Ryan's eyes were wide, tongue swiping over his bottom lip every now and then, just waiting for whatever Brendon had in mind. 

Brendon moved to grab his phone in a swift motion, choosing the perfect song for the moment. And when he did, he pressed play and discarded the phone on top of their shared bed. 

The song started playing from the speakers. Brendon immediately dived into character, looking directly into Ryan's eyes with nothing but pure lust and passion in them. 

From his seat, Ryan could only watch and follow Brendon's every move. His eyes were a complete reflection of his lover's — lust clouding them. 

Very slowly, Brendon walked over to Ryan. Swinging his hips to the beat with every step he took, in an extremely calculated way to make Ryan's arousal climb up. 

Brendon circled Ryan, keeping his agonizingly slow pace. The distinctive click of heels against the floor was heard as Brendon walked around Ryan. And just then, Ryan took notice of Brendon wearing them — god, it just kept getting better. 

Hands were roaming all over Ryan's frame too. Neck, chest, arms, face. Hands that knew that body all too well — From behind, Brendon was leaning over towards Ryan, hands touching every single inch of his lover's arms. 

Ryan gasped softly as Brendon's lips kissed his sensitive neck. Brendon did not suck on the spot, just kissed it gently. Ryan could also feel his breathing against the skin —  The small gestures sent shivers running through Ryan. 

Then, Ryan whined pathetically when Brendon pulled apart from him. Brendon's touch still lingered on his skin though, as he took place in front of Ryan instead. They never broke eye contact, not even when Brendon started doing his own thing.

Brendon was moving like nobody was watching him, moves that were far from family friendly — Brendon's hips rolled in an intoxicating way, his slim waist dancing like it had a life of his own. Brendon's hands were following the rhythm as he touched all over himself — All the while, Ryan's gaze never left the sight of him.

The distance between them was growing annoying, they needed to be closer. Ryan was craving the closeness, the touch, friction, taste, anything. "Please..." Ryan half-whined, half-moaned his plea. Brendon knew him too well to not know exactly what his boyfriend needed. And he couldn't be more happy to give him just that.

Next thing, Brendon once again, walked over to Ryan, making a show of it. He rested his hands on the older's shoulders, stopping for a second to look deep into Ryan's blown pupils. Both of them had eyeliner on, making their gaze even darker. 

If Brendon wasn't giving Ryan a lap dance, he would have just kissed him right there and then — a big-mouthed, sloppy kiss. But he was in character, and he's a man true to his word, he will finish what he started.

One of Brendon's feet flew to rest on top of Ryan's parted legs, just for a mere couple of seconds. And before Ryan could think any rational thought, Brendon sat down on Ryan's lap almost aggressively. 

The breath was snatched out of Ryan in the form of a long moan escaping his lips. Finally, Brendon had finally given him the closeness he'd been craving — Automatically, Ryan's long hands flew to hold Brendon by the waist, nails digging into the flesh. Touch, touch, touch...

Brendon didn't waste any more time, and started grinding down into Ryan. The friction of their clothed erections pressing together so nicely, sent jolts of pleasure running through them. There were still too many layers of clothes in between though.

The younger knew exactly what he was doing to Ryan, and he absolutely loved it. The poor guy was falling apart underneath his fingertips, every little touch drove him crazier — Brendon couldn't deny he was enjoying it a tad too much, the dominance he had over Ryan at that precise moment. 

Small, elaborated breaths left Ryan's mouth as Brendon did wonders on him. Words were failing him, as he wanted to voice out how much he really needed Brendon, but he was too blissed out to think rationally — Every single thing was turning him on even more. To the point he thought he wouldn't get through it without exploding first.

Both of them were too far gone by now. They were no longer limiting themselves to delicate teasing anymore, their hands were hungry for any sort of touch they could get — The grinding motion had grown sloppier and harder also. The purpose changed to seeking that glorious high, instead of enjoying the moment. 

The song had come to an end, and Brendon took it as an excuse to level the game up. He couldn't contain himself anymore though, as he launched forward to catch Ryan's lips with his own. The sloppiness of the kiss didn't surprise them in the slightest. They continued, acting like it would be the last one they shared.

With fiddling hands, Brendon managed to get most of Ryan's hoodie out of the way, but wasn’t too patient to get it completely off. Ryan took over from there, unbuttoning his pants too, as Brendon started kissing down his jaw, nibbling Ryan's skin. 

The portion of Ryan's chest and collarbones that was revealed after taking his hoodie off, looked so pale and mark-less in Brendon's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to paint it with beautiful, dark red marks, from having sucked too hard on the skin.

A beautiful trail of saliva and redness was left behind as Brendon marked Ryan up. It went all the way from Ryan's mouth, all swollen and shiny, to his jaw, neck, collarbones, chest — It turned Ryan on to think he'd have no way of hiding those, being exposed, letting the world know there's someone who did them. 

Ryan's dominant side was very long forgotten, it had been since the minute he laid eyes on Brendon this morning. Every ounce of his being was at Brendon's mercy. The man could do whatever he pleased, and Ryan would love it regardless. He forgot about everything and just went on with it, enjoying the hell out of this. 

Brendon continued, going lower and lower progressively. Now, he was on his knees for Ryan, looking up at him intently, no intentions of averting his gaze at all as he worked — He kissed down Ryan's flat stomach. Poking his tongue out to lick experimentally when he reached Ryan's happy trail. 

With quite a bit of struggle, Brendon got rid of Ryan's annoyingly tight jeans and underwear. Ryan moaned in relief, when his cock had finally sprung free form such torturously confined space — Brendon was smirking to himself, seeing how his little show had worked marvelously on Ryan. "Someone's excited to see me."

Not even a second after, Brendon's hands were stroking Ryan languidly. Working him up just a bit more before the actual game began — In the meanwhile, Brendon was looking up at Ryan with the most innocent eyes he could muster. But Ryan knew their intentions were anything but innocent.

Deciding the teasing had been enough, Brendon started by kissing the flesh, wet lips mouthing all over Ryan's hardened dick. Ryan wordlessly thanked him with a loud grunt, hands reaching out to grab Brendon's dark hair as a way of support. 

Being greatly experienced in the art of giving head, Brendon proceeded to take Ryan all the way. Bobbing his head up and down the shaft, without gagging once — Ryan's head was tilted back, eyes closed and feeling all the pleasure Brendon was giving him. 

Even if Brendon was the one on his knees for Ryan, it was pretty clear he was the one in charge of the events that morning — Ryan would usually hold Brendon's head and guide him to go deeper, or to stay still and fuck his mouth. But this time, he didn't do any of those things.

It didn't take too long for Ryan to feel like cumming. Brendon felt a tiny bit grateful for that, he didn't need to do much. Since before he started it, Ryan looked so close already — Brendon just helped him a little bit to finish him off more properly, than just dry humping.

Before Ryan could mutter the usual 'I'm close', Brendon had already pulled out slightly, just enough for the head to be the only thing in his mouth. He was focusing on sucking hard and fast — twirling his tongue all over the swollen crown, dipping it into the slit — Then, Brendon felt it.

Ryan climaxed strongly. Hot, long spurts of the white substance were released inside Brendon's mouth — The moan that left his lips was sinful. A weird combination of Brendon and fuck, screamed at the same time — The younger didn't mind, he just swallowed and kept on sucking Ryan gently, helping him ride his high. 

When Brendon was aware Ryan's strong-ass orgasm had come to an end, and his cock was slowly softening in his mouth, Brendon let him go, but not without giving a last kiss to Ryan's cock.

"God, you — You're on another level, Brendon Urie." Ryan was wrecked after that, sounding far from breathless. "You're amazing."

Brendon chuckled to himself, he loved the compliments, but he knew his boyfriend was just daydreaming now. "Darling, it's the orgasm speaking. C'mon, go to sleep." He got on his feet, kicking the heels out of the way and leaned down to peck Ryan's lips swiftly.

"But, what about you?" Ryan pouted, pointing to the obvious tent on Brendon's boxers. "Want me to do something?" 

"Nah, I'm fine." Brendon brushed it off and got in the bathroom to wash his sticky fingers and get out of the thigh highs — he wasn’t exactly feeling it, so he prefered to ignore it. When he returned to the bedroom, Ryan was still sitting uncomfortably on the chair, his eyes closed. Brendon rolled his eyes playfully and helped a very much naked Ryan get to bed with a bit of struggle. 

Once they were lying down, safely under the warm blankets and tangled into one, Ryan mumbled under his breath. "Next time, start off like this. It'd save us from arguing." 

Brendon didn't need to ask what he meant, he just grinned and nodded in affirmation, curling up into Ryan's side a bit more. "I'll keep it in mind, sleepyhead." 

"Ok... night." Ryan's rough sounding voice and nothing other than sleep keeping his eyes closed, indicated Ryan had dozed off already. Brendon quickly followed, not forgetting to leave a loving kiss on Ryan's chest, where he then laid his head on top to use as a pillow.

--

<> Hours later

Ryan woke up hours later to the sound of the blender working. He blinked in the mid-light of the room, the sun still shone outside the curtained-windows — he felt so well-rested. 

The weight on his chest had been set free, the uneasiness had drained for him and all that was left was peace and quiet — though, it was only mental, the blender was still on and the noise was drilling its way into Ryan’s skull. Brendon wasn’t sleeping by his side anymore, which should’ve been scary if he was. Ryan stretched his limbs and took Brendon’s pillow as a noise shield. 

Even if he just had an incredible post-orgasm sleep, and the feeling like he had slept for endless hours, his eyes couldn’t stay open. The bed was so warm and comfortable underneath Ryan’s body, the temperature of the room was slightly chilly, contrasting with the warm so nicely. All the right elements to go back to sleep. Ryan reacomodated on the bed to do just that — Brendon had other plans.

“Oh my dear Ryan, I made breakfast!” Brendon cheered once he entered the room. He smiled when he saw a completely covered Ryan by all the mess of covers and pillows. Ryan made a discontentment sound from the back of his throat, but not moved an inch nor showed any interest. “It’d be so rude of you to ignore me. So please, stop pretending and get up. I bet you’ll love what I prepared.”

“I’m not pretending. I’m asleep, see?” Ryan’s just-woken-up voice answered him after a few seconds. His boyfriend glared at him disapprovingly from the doorway, two glasses clutched firmly in one hand, while the other carried the plate with breakfast.

“Shut up… Here, grab yours before I spill it all over you and blame you for ignoring me.” Brendon said accusingly. And If it wasn’t because his hands were occupied, Brendon would’ve yanked the covers away from him — the guy remained naked, it would've worked effortlessly.

Ryan quited trying to ignore Brendon to go back to sleep, and finally sat up and looked up at him. Brendon had made smoothies, and was holding their glasses skillfully. Ryan reached to grab one of them and took a sip, it tasted like berries — Brendon must have seen the frozen fruit he bought and got inspired. 

The contents of the plate, though, confused him. It looked like it could be french toast with fruit on top, but there was the possibility of being burnt pancakes. Either way, he would eat it before Brendon shoved a spoonful through his mouth. A thing he would definitely not doubt doing if Ryan rejected his food. 

“Is it good? I hope it does, it has a ton of berries. Which by the way, thanks for buying them, love! I’ve been craving one of these since forever.” Brendon moaned in delight as he sipped his own cup. He handed Ryan the plate with breakfast so he could climb over him and sit at his side. 

“It does taste good, very good. And undeniably, berries.” Ryan smiled at him sweetly behind his glass, having drunk almost half of it. 

“Thanks, Ry!... Now eat, you’ll love it.” Taking a closer look at the plate in front of him, Ryan confirmed his expeculations — french toast. He didn’t bother with forks and took a bite. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste bad, great instead.

“Wow, I should congratulate you for not burning breakfast this time, and for actually making good food.” Ryan joked through another bite of the toast, but Brendon grinned from ear to ear and cheered ‘fuck yeah, baby!’. The older one rolled his eyes and added. “Yeah, you go and yell while I finish this... Gotta enjoy when there’s edible food for once.”

“Hey! You’ve been so rude to me today.” Brendon pouted and sent him sad puppy eyes. But then he bit his bottom lip and his face turned guilty, all in one second. “But I forgive you, hopefully we’re even now.” 

Ryan had to think before he remembered what Brendon was referring to. “Forget about it, Bren.” He leaned forward to catch the corner of Brendon’s mouth in a kiss. “It’s okay, I understand… I'm still worried though, and I won’t stop being. But if you want to, then go ahead, nobody’s stopping you.”

“Really, you’re ok with it?” Brendon’s brown eyes glinted in hope, and actually shone brightly when Ryan nodded. “You’re not mad at me anymore?” 

“I wasn’t mad to begin with, silly.” Ryan received an unbelieving glare from Brendon, he took it as a motivation to go on. “I just — I worry too much, you know that. But nothing more. I wasn’t mad and I’m surely not now.”

The slightly tense atmosphere that had settled between them vanished, like it had already, but managed to come back somehow. Ryan kissed Brendon’s temple and snatched his cup from Brendon’s hands, Ryan’s own cup was empty already. He managed to gulp down the rest of the sweeter beverage before Brendon’s could protest. “You added extra sugar, right?”

“Of course I did!”

-------

A month and a half later

After a few hours of wandering around the place, going in and out of small rooms, almost completely in nude — skin-tight boxers, thigh highs and red heels. Showing off his body, dancing for strangers' eyes to see — His shift was finally coming to an end, and he’d be able to put some clothes on and leave.

Brendon had another lap dance left to do. The clock was reading something close to 3 am. Meaning he had to go right after and meet the other boys upstairs. Where most of the people were, gambling his pockets out in the casino.

Brendon: hi ry, i'm almost done

Brendon: see ya in ten xx

He quickly sent those messages. Not fully believing Ryan would read them anyway. Not for choice, but fear of getting caught on the phone while working. It felt nice to let him know at least — Brendon smiled afterwards, and it was all that mattered.

That day’s shift turned out to be one of the busiest since Brendon started working as a stripper too — after doing his little show in front of the crowd, he'd usually stick around. And then, a couple of men would pay him to dance for them, privately.

Today though, Brendon could barely rest before another person came over and asked for the same. His hips were getting slightly tired. Brendon could already imagine the soreness he'd feel by tomorrow morning — Lap dance after lap dance, man after man, his body moving in autopilot. God, did he want to go to sleep already.

Brendon wondered why. How was that day any different from the others? He could only shrug and go on. Walking his next 'kind-of-client, but-not-really-client', to one of the empty rooms — Not forgetting to swing his hips all the way through the hall. It was akin to his performance later, Brendon had to prove to them he was good at what he did.

Nothing was too interesting about this man in particular. Everyone where more of the same, as Brendon noted. Tiredly pleased looks on their faces. It looked like they were all there for the same thing — more like a statement, they definitely had the same reason.

Maybe, they had left their wives and children at home. Or their husbands, or nobody. A bag full of daily life problems. Who knows — they could all be tired of their lifestyle, done with life, sexually repressed. Anything. Finding lap dances as the best release they could get — but none of that stuff was of Brendon's concern. He focused on moving his hips and touching all over his body in the right patterns instead.

There was nothing new in every dance, really. Brendon repeated the same choreography as much as he was asked to do so. Keeping the same fake-lust look and flirty demeanor all the while — it was all meaningless after all. He was just getting paid for making them feel good, for at least ten minutes.

There was no place for shyness while doing it. Brendon had already wrapped up his mind around it. The job was to act in the most erotic way possible in front of people. Simple — But it didn’t shadowed the fact he was showing off his body to complete strangers, and getting paid for it. Holy hell.

It was weird, and almost uncomfortable at some points. But nothing he wasn’t used to by now — the way people looked at Brendon sometimes. Hungry-eyes staring him down, like a damn hunter gazing at their prey. It made shivers run down his spine, and not the good kind. And some other times, when they were feeling a little bit smart, they would go and try to touch him. Even if they knew they couldn’t.

As everyone else who shared the same job as Brendon, he had some rules. The basic rules: No touching and no talking. The touching part was obvious, any kind of touch, especially inappropriately. And the no talking rule was just because — he didn’t need to hear them saying stupid, dirty things to him all the time — He’s human, not some toy they could use.

The man sitting on the chair at the moment, was taking everything Brendon was giving him. They looked pleased with him. Even if Brendon wasn’t feeling it fully, he still managed to please everyone by his charm, and body of course — they were, not so subtly, eye-fucking Brendon the whole time. Which wasn’t unusual, but it looked like the man meant it.

Once Brendon finished his performance, he leaned down to give a closed-mouthed peck to the man’s cheek as per usual. It was his way of saying ‘hey! It’s done, you can go now’ without actually speaking. But the man turned their head, totally intentional, so Brendon could kiss their lips instead.

Brendon automatically pulled away. Eyes wide and seeking for any kind of apology coming from the man. But all he got was another attempt at a kiss and a hand holding Brendon’s waist in place. Brendon turned his head and spoke calmly, not wanting to cause any further problem. “Hey, quit it.”

“Quit what, darling?” The person’s husky voice ringed through the walls of the tiny room. “We’re just having fun... Aren’t we?”

“We're not. Could you stop whatever you’re doing?” Brendon said through gritted teeth. Only to receive a dark chuckle and smirk in return. Pulling away from the man’s strong grip on his waist, Brendon added “It’s not funny.”

“I paid you. Can’t a man get a simple kiss?”

“Actually, you can’t.” Brendon stated matter-of-factly, backing away from the man until he got to the doorway. Brendon wasn’t about to cause chaos just because of some random dude, who didn’t care to follow some rules. “Now, could you do me a favor and leave?”

“Huh, and why would I listen to some guy in heels?” The words rolled so casually out of the man’s tongue. Not even a dash of regret flashed through their old looking features after saying them. It wasn’t like Brendon had expected them to be in the first place.

Brendon should feel offended at the comment. But he didn’t let them get to him – Brendon turned around and left the room, tuning out the words they were saying. They weren’t worth his time. Brendon walked through the dark hall until he got to the room where all of them kept their stuff. And then, quickly changed into the casino’s uniform.

Nobody apart from him was there in the room at the time. So he didn’t have to stop and chit-chat with them on his way out. Brendon grabbed his bag and went to find Mason Reyes himself, to tell him he was done for the day and wished him a wonderful day.

The main stairs that led to the casino were definitely so much better. But he had to take another way, so he wouldn’t be spotted by the many people. The personal-only entry, spelled in other words. In the backroom, Brendon discarded his bag in his locker, the one besides Ryan’s, and sighed before returning to the other half of the job.

All the lights and colorful game machines came into view. The sea of various faces covered in makeup, dressed up nicely in expensive attires, cocktails in hand, were there filling every nook available. Not all of them were playing though, just half of them. 

As Brendon roamed the space, he located Ryan in his peripheral vision. He was looking as good as always, doing his own, serving cards to the players in front of him. But not only Ryan was around. Brendon almost bumped into Jon with a tray full of cocktails. "Hey there, B! Watch out."

"Hi Jon, sorry!" Brendon offered him one of his characteristic looks. Patting gently at Jon's shoulder. Nobody could ever get mad at him, Brendon was just so likable.

"It's okay, Bren... See you around.” Jon grinned and nodded his head, giving some lady one of the cocktails. "Oh, before I forget! Ryan's looking for you."

"Ok, thanks. Bye!” Brendon waved to no one in particular as Jon was already rushing to hand away all the beverages. Ryan was just around the corner of the slot machines, so it didn't take Brendon too long to get to him. "Hello, Ross. Were you looking for me?"

Ryan recognized the voice and instantly looked up. His boyfriend, but not openly-boyfriend while working, was standing by his side an inch too close as any other person would.

Every night in the casino, they had to act like there was anything between them. Besides the coworkers relationship, or friends, but that was about it. Putting aside the 'romantically involved' part. It sucked, but they managed.

“Actually, yeah.” Ryan tried to fight the smile off his face as he talked to Brendon. The people sitting before him weren’t that interested in Ryan, just what his hands were doing with the cards. So he took it as an opportunity to greet his lover. “How did it go?” 

The cards and chips never stop circulating on the blackjack table. Ryan’s hands were moving smoothly, attending the ones playing at the moment. Eyes focused on the table, but ears playing close attention to Brendon. 

Their boss wasn’t too hard on them though, thankfully. Even if they were working at a casino. The ambient was more about chilling and enjoying the time around, instead of focusing on following rules. It was great, that way they could talk without worrying about it.

“It could’ve been better, but nothing too bad.” The worried look that crossed Ryan’s features was the exact reason Brendon had considered not to tell him. But it slipped out, so he changed the topic rather quickly. “What about you, huh? Has anyone got in trouble?” 

Ryan’s brows knitted in confusion, he saw right through Brendon and knew something was off. But they were working, in the presence of strangers, so he brushed it off. Not for long though, just until they got home. “Yeah, it’s been ok. For a casino, I’d say everything has been great.”

“That’s a start.” Brendon chuckled and looked at his surroundings. He ended up focusing his gaze on Ryan’s long fingers. They handled the cards so gracefully, yet delicately. It was mesmerizing. 

“Aren’t you going to work?” Ryan questioned halfheartedly as he saw how Brendon wasn’t planning on moving from his spot any time soon. “I mean, you could stay. But I would rather for you to stay employed.”

“Shut up.” Brendon laughed and slapped Ryan’s arm playfully. “I’m gonna go now then, you stay here.” 

“Sure thing.” Ryan looked up to send Brendon a toothy grin. It was the closest to everything else they couldn’t do while trapped in there. Rules were rules. They wouldn’t want to break them so soon after getting the job. 

Brendon mirrored the smile before going to find something to do. More like, trade places with whoever that was occupying his usual spot. Task that went absolutely great. When he got to the roulette table, the guy was already asking him just that. 

“Brendon, hey, glad you’re here!” Dallon, his once upon a time trainer, now just another of his many coworkers, smiled widely in hopes Brendon wouldn’t decline him. “Would you mind stepping in? I’ve gotta go and sort something real quick.”

“Of course.” Brendon took the place Dallon was before he had arrived. “I can handle it from here, you can go.”

“Thanks, man!” After Dallon had left, he was now in charge of the roulette game. It was his go-to game, always had been. Blackjack didn’t catch his eye as much as it catched Ryan’s. But the roulette definitely did for him. 

-

<> Hours later

Once their shift was over, all four of them got in Jon’s car. Letting him drive while the others rest after their busy night. Spencer and Ryan were soon asleep on the backseat. Brendon wasn’t that tired, looking at the city pass by.

The shining sun of Las Vegas at 7 am was lightening up the Strip naturally. The hotels and casinos looked a bit lifeless without the neon lights and dark sky. The usually, and very much alive city, lost a part of its brightness under the sunshine. But not to the point of making it look dead.

Their apartments were in the outskirts of town. Not necessarily in the bad, crappy side, where no tourists dare to visit. It was a nice and quiet area. But still, a fifteen-minute ride from their job. 

Spencer and Jon went immediately into their own place. Saying a quick 'see ya' before dismissing themselves. Which left Ryan and Brendon to go inside their own apartment, without the presence of their best friends. 

It felt lonely when they were the only ones in there. Technically, they lived alone. But they were so used to spending all the time together, in Ryan and Brendon's, that it felt different and fairly quiet. It wasn’t all that bad though, they enjoyed the peace and quietness brought by the lack of people.

"Brendon Boyd Urie." Ryan was the first one to speak after closing the front door. And it made Brendon come to a stop on the kitchen counter. Ryan called him by his full name — it had to be something serious.  

"What's up?" Brendon asked carefully. Unsure of where the conversation was going. 

"Brendon Boyd Urie." The older man only repeated his words and stared at Brendon right in the eyes. Communicating with him by looks instead of words.

"Oh, about that…?" Realization hit Brendon and he was reminded of the earlier events. He shook his head dismissively and went to check the contents of the fridge. He wanted nothing more than to fill the emptiness of his stomach. "Ryan, it was nothing. Don't worry."

"No, Brendon. It wasn't nothing." Ryan told him truthfully. His sleepy mood from before they arrived was long gone. "You looked a bit distressed. And you did say 'it could've been better'. What happened, Bren? — Did someone do anything to you?" 

Brendon grabbed a small box of orange juice and tore off the straw, sighing loudly. He liked how protective Ryan got sometimes. Always on the edge if it meant Brendon would be fine — It made Brendon feel comfortable, safe, loved. But still, he was afraid? Or, maybe he was just embarrassed. Brendon wasn't sure.

"As I said, nothing to worry about." The shorter man started, voice warningly for Ryan to not freak out. He went to sit on the couch beside Ryan, taking a hold of his hand as well. "Just some fucked up dude. He wouldn't listen to me."

Ryan was all ears at every word to come out of Brendon's mouth. Extremely focused and worried sick — With a short nod, he told his boyfriend to continue. His fingers tracing patterns on Brendon's hand. 

"They kissed me." Brendon confessed to Ryan. Feeling embarrassed and pathetic. "I pushed them away, but they were so insistent on kissing me. Then, I told them to leave, which they obviously didn't. So I left."

Brendon paused on his explanation, waiting for a response from Ryan. He didn't know how he would answer. There was no reason for his boyfriend to be mad or upset at Brendon. But still.

The hold Ryan had on Brendon's hand only got stronger. He let out a sigh, reaching out to embrace Brendon in a hug. "God, are you okay? Please, tell me that asshole didn't hurt you." 

"Yes, Ry, I'm fine. They didn't hurt me." Brendon smiled inside the crook of Ryan's neck. Silent, happy tears were welling in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He wiped them away and kept cuddled up in Ryan's arms

"I'm glad you told me, B. '' Ryan pulled away the tiniest bit, just to kiss Brendon's temple. "We can go and talk to Mr. Reyes, if you want. Tell him about this — I don't want anything like this happening to you again."

"We'll do it, Ryan. But, can we drop it now, please?" Brendon whined, cuddling up fully on Ryan's side, as if he was about to sleep already. "It's okay, I'm okay, everything's okay — You're okay too, right?" 

Ryan chuckled at his lover, all comfy and spread out over Ryan's lap and side. It seemed like they would be sleeping on the couch that day. "Yeah, I'm okay." 

"That's the attitude! Now, shut up, lay down and sleep." Brendon's eyes were closed, words trailing down. It had been a tough day for both of them. A good sleep would do them great. 

Ryan laid them down to be more comfortable. And once they were half-laying on the couch, Ryan was acting practically as a body pillow. He rested his head on top of Brendon's. Each other's sound of breathing lulling them to a peaceful sleep.

----
That's it! Thank you again to beebosgoldenmic for making this beautiful one shot with me and smut 😏..I hope you all enjoyed it, thank you for reading it!